2024-04-29 17:54:01
Contact lenses, worn by approximately 150 million people around the world, are sold in a variety of products depending on the needs and lifestyles of consumers.
In general, contact lenses are largely classified according to purpose of use, material, and wearing time. Depending on the material, they are classified into ‘hard contact lenses’ and ‘soft contact lenses’. Initially, contact lenses were developed for vision correction, but are now used in a variety of ways, from cosmetic purposes (circle lenses, colored lenses, etc.) to therapeutic purposes. Recently, interest in developing contact lenses for diagnosing diseases has been increasing. Depending on the usage time, they can be divided into daily wear lenses, which are discarded after one day of wear, and regular replacement lenses, which can be worn for more than one day.
The characteristics and advantages of each lens are also clear. According to the ‘International Contact Lens Prescription Annual Report’, as of 2023, soft lenses account for 89% of the total lens usage rate. Soft lenses are made of softer materials than hard lenses, so they cause less foreign body sensation or pressure, and are comfortable to wear. The diameter of the lens is also larger than that of a hard lens, which has the advantage of reducing the risk of losing the lens.
In order to choose the product that is right for you among various contact lenses, you must receive an examination and consultation about your current eye condition from a specialist. There are four factors to consider when wearing contact lenses: comfort, vision, health, and convenience.
If you choose a product that takes into account your lifestyle and occupation, you can wear contact lenses more comfortably and healthily. For example, if you have to wear lenses for a long time, if your eyes feel stiff or your vision is blurry, you may want to consider upgrading to lenses made of moist material. Contact lenses interact with natural tears. If you wear lenses for a long time, the tear layer becomes unstable. Because of this, the rate of evaporation of tears becomes faster, which can cause the eyes to become even drier. Therefore, the fact that the lens surface dries relatively quickly means that the wetness of the lens surface is poor. If you want a moist and comfortable fit that lasts from morning to night, use daily soft lenses approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for their dryness reduction effect, or use lenses with moisture content that increases to over 90% toward the surface of the lens, providing moist comfort that lasts for 30 days. You can consider monthly soft lenses.
If you frequently drive to work or for work purposes, you should check whether you have astigmatism before choosing contact lenses for clearer vision. Recently, the rate of use of functional soft lenses to correct astigmatism or presbyopia is increasing. However, the prescription rate of domestic astigmatism correction lenses is less than half of the global astigmatism lens prescription rate, so more active astigmatism correction must be implemented.
Recently, contact lenses made of ‘water surface lens’ material, which helps stabilize the axis of astigmatism, were also released. The lens is known to maintain a moist surface for a long time, providing a comfortable fit and helping to stably correct astigmatism. Lenses for astigmatism have a stabilization design that prevents rotation of the axis of astigmatism for stable vision correction. If the lens surface is kept moist by stabilizing the tear film, movements such as movement and rotation of the lens each time the eye blinks are minimized, resulting in better vision. This provides not only a clear view but also a comfortable fit. Therefore, people with astigmatism should choose soft lenses that are suitable for them by considering various factors such as the degree of astigmatism, axis of astigmatism, and moisture of the lens surface.
On the other hand, it is also important to look at the environment in which the lenses are worn. A representative example is the environment in which electronic devices are used. If you look at the screen of an electronic device such as a computer monitor or tablet for a long time while wearing contact lenses, you are likely to experience dry eye symptoms. People often think that it is due to the blue light emitted from the screen, but the fundamental cause is that the number of eye blinks when looking at the screen is significantly reduced. Normal eye blinking is about 15 times per minute, but when using digital devices, that number decreases to about half, which accelerates tear evaporation and ultimately has a more negative impact on dry eye symptoms. In this case, it is a good idea to check the characteristics of the lens surface material to see if it is made of a material that helps maintain ‘tear film stability’. Additionally, lifestyle habits are important. In fact, the American Academy of Ophthalmology also emphasizes increasing the natural number of eye blinks by taking regular eye breaks when using digital devices for long periods of time. It is also recommended to use artificial tears or adjust screen brightness to prevent and manage symptoms such as dry eyes, excessive tearing, and headaches that occur when using digital devices.
Reporter Cho Seon-hee [email protected]
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2024-04-29 17:54:01